


Per Aspera Ad Astra (Through Hardships To The Stars)

by orzaika



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Drabble, F/F, lace harding deserves a proper romance, mentions of other inquisitors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22379692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orzaika/pseuds/orzaika
Summary: Sometimes Lace Harding wonders what tales would be spread had Inquisitor Adaar not been the one to step out of the fade. At the very least, she thinks, she wouldn't be pining for someone who she knew was doomed.
Relationships: Female Adaar/Lace Harding, Lace Harding/Female Inquisitor
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Per Aspera Ad Astra (Through Hardships To The Stars)

Sometimes Lace Harding wonders if there were others. The question pops up in the back of her mind, unbidden, when she talks to the dalish scout who has quickly become vital to the Inquisition- “I was on my way to the conclave,” he says over a tankard of ale, “I was just waylaid by bandits and highwaymen along the way.

“It’s just as well,” he admits as he drinks deeply, “I’d rather be here than be dead on that mountain top.” Harding has seen the way he masterfully sneaks around enemies, the way his daggers flash faster than light, the way he weaves his words just so, the way he charms nobles into alliances, the way he brings warmth and stability to younger scouts. She has seen the way he works with Dorian, hunched over books and loose papers, crafting magic without having any of his own. She has watched as he carries refugees over his shoulders to their camps, watched as he tells Leliana without any fear that he refuses to leave people behind so they can complete their mission. She wonders, distantly, what stories would be told if Ryn Lavellan was the Inquisitor; if he made it to the conclave, if he was the one to earn Corypheus’s ire. 

But this is not his story, and Ryn is suited to working in the shadows even if he shines brighter than the sun more days than not.

The next time she wonders is when a mage from the Circle of Ostwick reaches out to the Inquisition, seeking to aid them in their fight against the Venatori. When Harding shakes Olympia Trevelyan’s hand, she is taken aback at the strength of her grip, of the callouses set deep into her palm. When Olympia speaks, she is loud and confident, not out of cockiness, but out of self-assuredness that only comes with years of practice. Olympia, too, was supposed to be at the conclave. Harding only finds this out later as they’re travelling back to Skyhold.

“I saw my brother there, you know?” She says, absent-minded, as she stares up at the massive gash torn in the sky. “I had asked the circle leaders where he had gone after his harrowing, and they always told me he had gone to study in another circle. It was quite the shock when I saw the sunburst brand on his forehead.” Harding makes a sympathetic noise in the back of her throat. She has seen Maxwell Trevelyan assisting Josephine. She, herself, tends to avoid him: from what she has gathered, he used to be a talented spirit healer with a kind personality. Hearing him speak with no emotion is uncanny and feels like a personal betrayal. “In all my years of study, I could have never prepared for seeing my baby brother stripped of all the love he had within him,” Olympia continues, her voice sharp and bitter. “I ran away, like a coward.”

Lace Harding learns more about Olympia when they finally arrive at Skyhold through whispers spoken in shadow; she invented a new type of storm magic, she studied with the Avvar, she’s working on a cure for tranquility. Everything Harding hears seems true, if only because Olympia seems capable of it. She wonders, consciously this time, where the Inquisition would be if Olympia had ran to a different room rather than out of the building completely, if she had been the one to face Corypheus and come away with the anchor.

But this is not her story, and Olympia doesn’t care for politics.

Venali Lavellan comes shortly after Ryn. He is brash, brazen, and throws himself into combat too easily, but he is effective in a fight, and the Chargers take to him quickly. With him he carries letters from Clan Lavellan, and suddenly the Inquisition has the support of several dalish clans. Harding has very few interactions with him, and most of them only happen because of Ryn; still, she learns, in short order, that Venali helped organize Clan Lavellan during the Wycome events, that he took it upon himself to hunt for the clan in Ryn’s absence, and that he can fell three men in one large sweep of a maul that is twice his size. He doesn’t have the nose for politicking that Ryn does, but he is good with people- he leads a small company at Adamant and somehow ends up convincing several wardens to join with him. When he returns to the main camp after the battle, he has more people in his train than he did when he left. It is easy to imagine him standing on the stone steps leading up to Skyhold, holding a great sword aloft as he tells their forces exactly what they need to hear. She looks at him and finds herself wondering what would have happened had he been sent in Ryn’s stead, if he had found Corypheus and stopped short of charging him long enough to receive the anchor.

But this is not his story, and he is too busy being Ryn’s wingman anyway.

It’s almost become her hobby; when she is bored, she wonders what stories would be told if the people around her were Inquisitor instead. It isn’t because she doesn’t approve of Asena Adaar. If anything, it’s because Lace Harding wishes that Asena was never put in the position she finds herself in.

From what she has been told, Asena was supposed to be taller. When she was born, the midwife had laughed and proclaimed that the larger-than-average infant would grow as tall as her father- perhaps even taller, if she was fed well.

In her own words, Asena was never quite good at living up to her potential.

She grew tall, but she barely reached her mother's height, let alone her father's. She ate well and worked hard, but she gained musculature, not height. She took meticulous care of her horns and urged them to curl higher; in the end, the only added an extra inch to her overall height. But she was strong, and she was kind, so it didn't matter to her parents so much. After all, she had been raised to believe that what was truly important was her actions- and that whatever she put out into the world, she would receive in kind.

If she didn't know better, Scout Lace Harding would wonder what horrendous actions warranted all the suffering Inquisitor Adaar was given, but she knew full well that Asena barely had the stomach for violence and rudeness on days when the world seemed determined to crush her. And that was where her worries lay; Asena was relentlessly kind and forgiving, younger than anyone in the inner circle, and had never before seen the kind of despair that was now being heaped upon her by everyone that expected her to be their savior. 

Lace Harding wanted so much better for her.

They exchanged quips, flirting more for the sake of filling silence than anything. They only started flirting seriously after they had spent nights in each other’s company, sharing a bottle of wine between them, holding silence for the people they could not save and the people relying on them both. Asena had approached her in Skyhold after dealing with Orlais’ civil war, and had offered to court Harding properly. She turned Asena down.

Harding wasn’t a fool. She knew better than to fall in love with women already on fire.

They were still friends, of course. Harding had dealt with embarrassment greater than this, and Asena was too gracious to admit that she felt awkward. Their flirting continued, even though Harding knew it wasn’t a good idea. She had always fallen too fast for her own good, and Asena was considerate and wonderful and doomed. Each time they spoke, Harding only came away wanting.

And wanting.

And wanting.

Looking for Asena in the rubble of the temple of sacred ashes was the hardest thing Harding had ever done. She didn’t know what she was more afraid of- that she would find Asena alive and be forced to confront her feelings, or that she would find Asena dead and be left with nothing but the hollow victory of Corypheus’s death. When she eventually appeared at the top of those steps, Lace had to keep herself from launching up the steps to her Inquisitor to assess the damage- one horn broken off, a minute gash in her side, the handle of her great axe snapped clean off, but she was alive, and Lace Harding was never more grateful in her life for someone’s survival.

“Does this mean we can finally stop dancing around each other?” Asena said days later, standing in front of Harding with flowers clutched in her gentle hands.

Harding regarded her for all of two seconds before she accepted the flowers.

“Yes.”

The story could have played out much differently. Lace Harding was just thankful she was allowed to be a part of this one.

**Author's Note:**

> Asena is actually my least-favored playthrough of Inquisition- Ryn is my canon worldstate, and Olympia has always been my favorite female inquisitor. For some reason, though, I just couldn't stay away from Harding and Asena. They deserve so much more than what they got lmao. Also! Venali belongs to a wonderful friend of mine that you can find at @sulldriti_art on instagram! He has great art and has drawn both Ryn and Venali (and my other Lavellan, Mahanon) please check him out.


End file.
